Helene St. James: It doesn't get any more turbulent than Game 7 between Red Wings, Ducks

May 11, 2013

The Detroit Red Wings congratulate Pavel Datsyuk (13) after his first-period goal against the Anaheim Ducks in Game 6 of the Western Conference quarterfinals at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, on Friday, May 10, 2013. / Julian H. Gonzalez/Detroit Free Press

Written by

Detroit Free Press Sports Writer

What with this being another day spent trekking between Detroit and Anaheim, it’s time for another edition of Up in the Air.

We’re past Game 6 of the first-round series between the Detroit Red Wings and Anaheim Ducks, so let’s get caught up.

What’s the tally so far: Wings have won all the even-numbered games, Ducks have won all the odd-numbered games.

What happened Friday night? If you turned off the TV when it was 3-1 Wings and only 4 minutes left in regulation, you missed some of the most thrilling hockey of the playoffs. Emerson Etem pounced after Valtteri Filppula inexplicably gave him the puck behind Detroit’s net, scoring with 3:28 to go. OK, Wings still had a lead. Within a minute, though, Bobby Ryan and Corey paired up to score, and voila, it was a tie game. Tick tock, tick tock, intermission. A minute into overtime, Pavel Datsyuk outfoxed Saku Koivu on a face-off, Henrik Zetterberg got the puck, he sent it to Niklas Kronwall, who figured the best thing to do was return it to sender, and double-voila, Zetterberg scored his second goal of the night.

What’s next? Game 7 Sunday at Honda Center (10 p.m. locally, FSD, NBCSN). This will be the 23rd time the Wings have been involved in a seven-game series. They’re 13-9 overall, 2-4 on the road.

What do the Wings have to their advantage? Zetterberg has five points his last two games. Points don’t reflect everything a leader like Zetterberg does, but points do win games. In the bigger picture, the Wings have shown time and again all season they play their best when their backs are to the wall, and backs don’t get any closer to any proverbial walls than a Game 7.

What do the Ducks have to their advantage? Their leader, Ryan Getzlaf, is nicknamed Captain Comeback for a reason. He’s scored some pretty huge goals so far. Perry seems to have awakened after five relatively quiet first five games. And the Ducks do have better depth up front — look at the damage their fourth-line guys like Emerson Etem and Kyle Palmieri have done.

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What’s with the goaltenders? Jimmy Howard, representing Detroit, and Jonas Hiller, representing Anaheim, continue to do everything possible to give their respective teammates a chance to win. Sometime this summer, they should sit down and buy each other a beer.

Who made a difference in Game 6 for the Wings? Defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo upgraded the puck-movement on the third pairing, making a good case for why he should have been put in immediately after Danny DeKeyser was lost to a broken thumb in Game 2.

What happens if the Wings win Game 7: They get to renew their playoff rivalry with the top-seeded Chicago Blackhawks, who dispatched the Minnesota Wild last Thursday. The good news is that flying from Detroit to Chicago takes less than an hour, and after what the Wings have just gone through, adjusting to one time zone difference is banal.

What happens if the Wings lose Game 7: Considering how radically different they are this season from the previous 20, they really should feel good about even making the playoffs, and then pushing a talented team like the Ducks to as many games as possible. Everybody else in the West finished faster. In fact, the sixth-seeded Sharks swept the Vancouver Canucks, the Blackhawks won in five games, and the defending Stanley Cup champion Kings dispatched the Blues in six.

What should everyone all over the world remember to do Sunday? Call their mom.

Experience: It's valuable if one has it, and if not, then there's always a first time.

The Wings are headed into a Game 7 against the Anaheim Ducks Sunday at Honda Center, and more than a few Wings have been in such a situation before. Here’s the breakdown of players who’ve been there before in their NHL careers and how they’ve performed:

Justin Abdelkader: 3 games, 0 points

Todd Bertuzzi: 4 games, 2 goals, 0 assists

Daniel Cleary: 4 games, 1 goal, 0 assists

Pavel Datsyuk: 4 games, 3 goals, 1 assist

Patrick Eaves: 4 games, 0 points

Jonathan Ericsson: 4 games, 1 goal, 1 assist

Valtteri Filppula: 4 games, 0 goals, 4 assists

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Johan Franzen: 3 games, 0 goals, 2 assists

*Darren Helm: 4 games, 1 goal, 0 assists

Jimmy Howard: 2 games, 4 goals allowed, 1-1 record

Niklas Kronwall: 4 games, 0 points

*Drew Miller: 3 games, 0 points

Mikael Samuelsson: 2 games, 1 goal, 0 assists

*Ian White: 1 game, 0 points

Henrik Zetterberg: 4 games, 1 goal, 5 assists

*Either injured or not playing

Contact Helene St. James: 313-222-2295 or hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.